FC St. Pauli is heading into the hot phase of the 2nd Bundesliga as league leaders. The people of Hamburg want the best conditions for this – and are taking an uncomfortable path.
Mallorca instead of Hamburg will be the name of the game for FC St. Pauli next week. The “Kiezkicker” will be training on the Balearic island for five days from Monday. The reason for this is the “enormous amounts of rainfall in the past few months” in northern Germany, the club said.
However, the second division table leaders received sharp criticism for this, because St. Pauli has made climate protection a prominent priority. It was only in the fall that the club announced that it would be one of seven clubs taking part in the “Football for Climate Justice” project. The fact that we are now being flown to another country for training was anything but well received by fans and observers.
According to coach Fabian Hürzeler, FC St. Pauli did not take the controversial decision lightly. “First of all, I can say that of course I would have preferred to stay here,” said Hürzeler on Thursday. “Because everything else is an additional burden for the players, also for the staff,” added the coach.
“Why Mallorca?”
“It’s not a training camp,” said Hürzeler. This choice was made because there are no suitable alternative options in the Hanseatic city and the leaders of the 2nd Bundesliga want to enter the important phase of the season with optimal conditions.
The club also wants to use the process to prevent injuries to players. “Why Mallorca? Because there is the opportunity to train well there,” said Hürzeler. St. Pauli found a good hotel there and is training on the underground of the first division club RCD Mallorca. The club travels to Spain on a normal airline flight.
On Thursday, a spokesman referred to a mobility analysis that showed that the travel activities of the professional team during football games only accounted for a small proportion of pollutant emissions. “We didn’t expect everyone to stand up and give thunderous applause for the measure,” said the spokesman. The club is aware that it is operating in a field in which there are contradictions.